Reliance Capital to sell non-core assets

New Delhi: Reliance Capital today said it has begun the process of unlocking value from investments in non-core sectors to focus on its key financial services businesses.

The company, which announced the merger of its global film and media business held through Reliance MediaWorks with Prime Focus, said discussions are under way for more such deals outside the financial services segment.

The proposed transaction reflects a significant step forward in the company’s strategy of unlocking value from its investments in sectors other than financial services, Reliance Capital Chief Executive Officer Sam Ghosh said in a statement.

The film and media services business of Reliance MediaWorks has been combined with Prime Focus, in which it will also get a 30.2 per cent stake. Reliance Capital used to hold an almost 15 per cent stake in Prime Focus, which was offloaded in 2006.

Ghosh said the strategy would free up management bandwidth and resources in Reliance Capital, enabling the company to singularly focus on its core businesses of asset management, life and non-life insurance, broking and distribution, commercial finance and related sectors in financial services.

“Similar discussions are under way in relation to unlocking of value from other investments made by Reliance Capital in areas outside financial services,” he noted.

Meanwhile, in a separate regulatory filing, Reliance Capital said it has been engaged in discussions with Sumitomo Mitsui for over a year in relation to various initiatives such as banking.

“These discussions are only indicative, exploratory and non-binding in nature,” it said.